Here’s why US companies like Disney, Pepsi and GM are silently axing their DEI efforts: Report

Several companies in the US are silently burying their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, often not making any public announcements about it, Business Insider reported.

This is because they realized that ‘DEI’ is a politically loaded term and is not seen favourably by the newly elected US President Donald Trump who has called such efforts as “radical and wasteful.”

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However, this is completely unlike companies like Google, Walmart, Meta and others who have made large public announcements of rolling back their DEI efforts.

It goes as far as simply not mentioning anything about this, including in their annual 10-K financial reports filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Companies in the US are not legally mandated to furnish DEI details like this, but were doing it anyway earlier.

Examples include Disney shortening its DEI section and removing mentions of employee development programs and fellowships for underrepresented talent while adding a mention of Heroes Work Here, which is an initiative to hire and train US military veterans, according to the report.

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PepsiCo’s latest filing also excluded a breakdown of its workforce demographics as well as a line about how it believes its “culture of diversity, equity and inclusion is a competitive advantage that fuels innovation, enhances our ability to attract and retain talent and strengthens our reputation,” the report read.

General Motors completely cut out the DEI section of its annual report, despite having claimed to be “the most inclusive company in the world” in its 2023 report.

Meanwhile, Mondelez International scrapped the section dedicated to diversity and inclusion in its workforce, Philip Morris International significantly shortened its DEI section, renaming it “collaborative culture,” Pinterest renamed its “inclusion and diversity” section as “inclusion and belonging,” and Chipotle swapped “diversity, equity & inclusion” for “culture and inclusivity.”

The main reason why companies are silently burying their DEI efforts comes down to the fear of being sued. This is because Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

As a result, US companies, especially federal contractors risk being accused of violating this law by the Department of Justice (DOJ) due to their DEI policies, according to the report.

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This has happened in the past too. Missouri’s attorney general sued IBM in 2024, alleging it was using unlawful racial and gender quotas for employing.

Apart from all this, conservative groups are also putting pressure on the companies, according to the report which added that an example would be the Trump-aligned group America First Legal filing several complaints against companies like Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, over their DEI practices.

Texas’ attorney general, Ken Paxton, has also warned financial institutions like BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup on their DEI actions.